By Jerry Riley

This can be defined as happening once in a period of 300 years or a 300th anniversary or its celebration. Either way this column does fit the definition. This is my 300th published column; what a revoltin’ development this is!

Since each column is approximately 250 words, I have typed about 75,000 words. My fingers should be really tired. My first column, “Junk Mail My Plan,” was published in July of 2006.
The column was born at Eureka Printing. Paul and Jim either get the credit, or share the blame for talking me into writing a weekly column for the paper. The name of the column came from the TV sitcom “The Life of Riley” which was a derivative of the earlier radio program. We did some online research and, since the title was not copyrighted, I started to use it.
The “What a revoltin’ development this is” was always in the show. I only remember one column where I didn’t use it. I heard from some loyal readers who noticed it was missing.
All in all, writing the column has been a lot of fun. Sometimes columns sit in my idea folder for weeks or months, waiting for an idea to finish them. Some I walk around with, thinking about them for days and some I complete in minutes,
I’ve had comments from both people I knew, and people I didn’t. Most of the comments have been favorable. I attribute the unfavorable comments to no sense of humor, or thin skin.
I hope I’ve entertained people with my brand of writing. I may have inadvertently educated people, yes, what a revoltin’ development this is. I’ve often stirred controversy. A few of my readers have said I always make people think, and look at things from different standpoints.

Jerry Riley is an occasional commentator for the News Bulletin. He is a retired telecommunications supervisor.
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